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WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- Though she is encumbered with the heaviness of grief, Harry Devert's mother remains grateful her son lived his short life to the fullest.

According to a Facebook post written by his mother, Ann Devert of New Rochelle, DNA on cigarette butt found near human remains believed to be her son's, along with DNA from the remains themselves, positively matched hers.

The remains were located in Lagunillas, a town in the Mexican state of Michoacán, by Mexican officials after his family and friends spent approximately 175 days searching across the region.

Devert, 32, was a former New Rochelle resident and Pelham High School grad who went missing in Mexico on Jan. 25 while traveling by motorcycle on his way to Brazil for the World Cup.

After receiving the final confirmation, Ann took to the search group's Facebook page, entitled, "Help Find Harry," to make final remarks after receiving the results.

"I ache from missing my son who was life's great gift to me," she wrote. "I miss knowing he is alive in the world, meeting new people and having new good times. I miss knowing he will come home and tell me about his adventures and how people are people all over the world and that people are great."

She listed many of her favorite qualities her son possessed in the post, including his laugh, his curiosity and his tenacity.

"A force of evil killed Harry. This I now know," she wrote. "I also know that is not what matters most now. What matters most is you are here. Harry taught us that. Because you are alive, we can all rejoice that life is good and evil does not have the last say."

Despite her palpable sadness, the most powerful and perhaps unexpected part of the message was the hope and good will it expressed.

As a final note, Ann asked the Facebook page's 29,000 followers to post a picture of themselves in her son's signature post, arms outstretched and smiling, to the page in his memory.